Having a baby comes with a whole raft of rules about how to live: what to eat, what to drink, how to exercise, what medicines you can have, how much sleep you need. Everything you do affects the life growing inside you, including going to the dentist in SW14.
It can be tempting just to skip visits to the dentist while you are pregnant. After all, it’s only 9 months. You will be a bit later with a check-up, but hey, what could possibly go wrong? Well, plenty actually.
Gum disease
All those hormones racing around your body, changing things, also change the environment in your mouth, making it so much more hospitable for the plaque that cause gum disease. In fact, gum disease during pregnancy is such a big thing that it even has its own name: pregnancy gingivitis.
You may well feel like your gums are more swollen and sore. This is the acids from plaque attacking your gums. You need to get it regularly removed by our hygienist here at Sheen Dental. It would be awful to come out the other side of pregnancy with a beautiful child and teeth that are in danger of coming out.
A check-up and a regular scale and polish to remove plaque will not affect your baby.
What else do you need to consider?
Are you due any other treatments? If you are planning to conceive and also have treatments involving anaesthetics lined up, it is a good idea to get them done before you conceive. Come and have a check-up at your SW14 dentist, and we can work out a care plan that factors in your pregnancy.
If you are pregnant by surprise, you may be wondering what treatments you can have. No evidence suggests there is any reason to avoid dental treatments at any stage of your pregnancy. X-rays, teeth cleaning, pain medication, and local anaesthetics are all safe during pregnancy.
However, try to avoid anything more than check-ups and cleanings during the first trimester and the second half of the third trimester. Also, we suggest putting off any elective treatments, such as having dental implants fitted, until after your baby is born.